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SportsDay's Dallas Cowboys beat writers examined the best draft picks by the team at each position since 1967, the year the AFL and NFL stopped drafting the same players. Below are the top linebacker draft picks of all time.

Breunig came out of the "Dirty Dozen'' draft class that roused the Cowboys with its rookie exuberance. A year after going 8-6, the kid-fueled Cowboys reached the Super Bowl. Breunig became the starter on the strong side in 1976 and moved to the middle a year later, replacing Lee Roy Jordan as the third starter at the position in club history. Breunig led the Cowboys in tackles four times during a five-year span that began in 1979. Breunig appeared in three Pro Bowls. Before Breunig, Jordan had been the Cowboys' only drafted Pro Bowl linebacker.

D.D. Lewis

David Woo/Staff

D.D. Lewis (50) of the Cowboys charges in on Washington's Joe Theismann.

College: Mississippi State

Draft spot: 1968, sixth round (No. 159 overall)

Lewis' size -- 6-1, 225 pounds -- worked against him in the draft, but his speed and quickness made him a good fit in Tom Landry's "Flex" defense. In 1973, Lewis replaced Chuck Howley as the weak-side starter. Lewis went on to start 20 postseason games and appear in five Super Bowls with the Cowboys. Lewis had 135 consecutive starts, tying him with Bob Lilly for third on the club's all-time list. Lewis' career performance came in the 1975 NFC title game against the Los Angeles Rams, when he had two interceptions in the 37-7 win. Interceptions were not Lewis' strength. He had only eight interceptions in 186 career regular-season games.

DeMarcus Ware

Louis DeLuca/Staff photographer

Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Ware (94) sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) in the first quarter during the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday, September 15, 2013. (Louis DeLuca/Dallas Morning News)

College: Troy (drafted as a DE)

Draft spot: 2005, first round (No. 11 overall)

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Before he was cut in March 2013, Ware became one of the franchise’s most celebrated pass rushers. He was named to seven Pro Bowls as a Cowboy, the most for a linebacker in franchise history, and he specialized in making life miserable for quarterbacks. He left the Cowboys as the club’s all-time leader in sacks with 117. He had a league-high 20 sacks in 2008, third-highest total in club history, and a league-high 15.5 in 2010. (Harvey Martin set the record with 23 sacks in the 14-game season of 1977.) Ware was also a constant for the defense, missing only three games in his nine-year run in Dallas. His most memorable effort came in a 2009 upset win at New Orleans, when he came off the bench to get two sacks less than a week after being carted off the field because of a neck injury.

Ken Norton Jr.

Paula Nelson/The Dallas Morning News

Dallas Cowboys linebackers Jack Del Rio (55) and Ken Norton Jr. (51) close in on Eagles FB Heath Sherman (23) during a Cowboys loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia Dec. 23, 1990. Del Rio and Norton will be on opposing sides of the field during Super Bowl XLVIII. Norton is linebackers coach for the Seahawks and Del Rio is the Broncos defensive coordinator. (Paula Nelson/The Dallas Morning News)

College: UCLA

Draft spot: 1988, second round (No. 41 overall)

Norton played both the strong side and the middle and served as the emotional leader of Super Bowl-winning defenses in 1992-93. His last season with the Cowboys, 1993, was his best. Norton was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time that year despite playing most of the season with a torn right biceps tendon. The Cowboys would not have another Pro Bowl linebacker until 1999. Norton also had a memorable performance in Super Bowl XXVIII after the 1992 season. His 10-tackle game in the 52-17 win against Buffalo included a goal-line stop of running back Thurman Thomas and a hard but clean hit that knocked Bills quarterback Jim Kelly out of the game.

Dexter Coakley

Michael Mulvey/Staff

Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals at Texas Stadium -- Emmitt Smith is wrapped up by a diving Cowboys' Dexter Coakley. The former player would have no impact in the game with the Cowboys. The Cowboys defeated the Cardinals 24-7.

College: Appalachian State

Draft spot: 1997, third round (No. 65 overall)

The best sub-6-foot linebacker in club history, Coakley overcame less-than-ideal size and the background of playing at an out-of-the-way college to become a three-time Pro Bowler with the Cowboys. Coakley, who replaced Darrin Smith on the weak side as a rookie, survived with speed, intelligence and toughness. Coakley missed only one start in eight seasons with the club. Coakley's best performance came in 2002, when he had a team-high 173 tackles. Being stuck on a 5-11 team likely kept Coakley from the Pro Bowl in that season.

Honorable mentions

WORST

Bobby Carpenter

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Bobby Carpenter, 22, of Lancaster, takes a conference call with the Dallas Cowboys media relations department soon after being picked 18th in the first round of the NFL draft on Saturday, April 29. Carpenter will work under the direction of head coach Bill Parcells, who also coached Bobby's dad, Rob Carpenter, with the New York Giants in 1983. E-G photo by Ken Ritchie

College: Ohio State

Draft spot: 2006, first round (No. 18 overall)

The Cowboys saw something in Carpenter that few, if any, other NFL teams did and believed he could play inside in a 3-4 defense. Carpenter's game was based more upon speed and pass coverages than point-of-attack strength, and he was ill-equipped for the role. The blame falls upon the Cowboys' scouting department, not Carpenter. Coach Wade Phillips found a role for Carpenter in 2009. Used primarily in pass-coverage situations, Carpenter had two sacks and participated in 46 tackles. Carpenter had only 1 ½ sacks in his first three seasons combined, while participating in 50 tackles. He was traded to the Rams in 2010.

Markus Steele

Vernon Bryant/Staff

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Markus Steele (#51) goes through his defender during a drill in the morning practice at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.

College: USC

Draft spot: 2001, fourth round (No. 122 overall)

Cool name. Lousy player. Steele started 10 games on the strong side as a rookie. That team went 5-11 but had a top-10 defense in terms of yards and points-per-game allowed. Steele apparently had a small role in the defense's success. The Cowboys brought in gimpy veteran Kevin Hardy to replace him in 2002. Steele lasted only two more seasons, getting just one start in that time.

John Babinecz

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Photo from Pinterest user Kevin Baskin

College: Villanova

Draft spot: 1972, second round (No. 39 overall)

Babinecz spent two seasons with the Cowboys without getting a start. After missing the 1974 season because of an injury, he was sent to Chicago. In one season with the Bears, Babinecz made a single career start. However, football does not tell the full story of Babinecz: He went on to become a pediatrician in the Philadelphia area.